


Those Ghosts of Yours…

by EmmaRzHere



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: At least believed haunting, Based on a Tumblr Post, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Ghosts, Haunting, M/M, Nico is a Dork, Nico-centric, Spoilers, Thomas Sanders is a Dork, can't be counted as angst, flirting with social anxiety spoilers, sickeningly fluffy, so sweet i got diabetes writing it, teeniest tiniest bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26978515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaRzHere/pseuds/EmmaRzHere
Summary: They’d only been dating for a couple of months, yet Nico found himself ridiculously head over heels for Thomas Sanders. Despite living with his head in clouds most the time, Nico usually wasn’t someone to believe in “fate” or “destiny”, but it became very hard not to trust that there was some kind of power that had drawn them together as he watched Thomas joke and laugh. He couldn’t think of a single bad thing about the other that wasn’t in some way endearing or just added to the odd yet radiant charm of his.Well, maybe there was one thing.Based off that Tumblr post about Nico believing that Thomas is seriously haunted, when really it's just the sides being...the sides.
Relationships: Nico Flores/Thomas Sanders, Thomas Sanders & The Sides
Comments: 431
Kudos: 639





	1. A slight problem... (Introduction)

Nico Flores honestly thought Thomas was…amazing.

Past there awkward, yet adorable, first meeting in the food court, “Mr Sanders” had proven to be one of the most honestly nice people he’d ever met. He was nearly always optimistic and hilarious, yet knew when to tone it down and take matters more seriously. It was hard to believe it was the same guy who fell into a bin and bought boiled carrots just to get out of directly talking to him!

Well he could believe it, Thomas was still endearingly awkward whenever they met up, stuttering and blushing through his sentences until he got fully absorbed in the conversation, which is when his personality began to shine through the nervous exterior that Nico had initially fallen for.

He hadn’t expected the man that at first had seemed so shy to hold much passion. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering he was kinda similar in that regard, but honestly Nico didn’t think anything could of prepared him for the dedication Thomas held for his interests. The spiels of theories about every Disney film imaginable, the outbursts of musical numbers at the most random of times, often followed by a speech on what makes the songs and plots so special, and the rants about storylines and alternate endings for video games that Nico had never heard of before that he wished would never end.

They’d only been dating for a couple of months, yet Nico found himself ridiculously head over heels for Thomas Sanders. Despite living with his head in clouds most the time, Nico usually wasn’t someone to believe in “fate” or “destiny”, but it became very hard not to trust that there was some kind of power that had drawn them together as he watched Thomas joke and laugh. He couldn’t think of a single bad thing about the other that wasn’t in some way endearing or just added to the odd yet radiant charm of his.

Well, maybe there was one thing.

He really shouldn’t judge the other man for it.

He meant- it really wasn’t his fault, he didn’t choose for it to happen to him.

He wasn’t even sure how aware Thomas was of it.

It was just, well – Thomas was kinda…

Thomas was possessed.

Wait, no, possessed was _definitely_ the wrong word for the situation. It was more like…very strongly haunted? Haunted to the point it effected Thomas’ actions?

It was hard to explain…and low key terrifying.

Nico had heard of ghosts haunting locations before, of course, but these ghosts seemed to haunt _Thomas_ in particular. Plus there was something different about actually seeing a haunting in person rather than just hearing about one online. He’d been half tempted to write some poetry on it to try and express just _what the hell was going on_ , but had decided against it.

It was more important to figure out what exactly was going on, for Thomas’ sake if anyone’s. He couldn’t stand the thought of this hurting his boyfriend. Something would have to be done if it turned out these spirits had more sinister intentions.

Man, just saying ‘spirits’ in a context outside of literature had Nico reeling.

Even more so when thinking about how the ghosts had acted so far.

They didn’t seem to mean any harm, but it was gosh-darn confusing to try and figure out what they were trying to do! Besides what they did do was beyond anything he’d heard ghosts doing before.

The whole situation was so weird. And complicated. Definitely not the type he’d expected to be thrown into when he decided to talk to the socially awkward man in the mall.

Just– it was so–

It was probably easier to explain from the beginning.


	2. Incident 1: Moving objects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico starts to notice a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there's not so much spoopy ghost action in this one, but it definitely increases in levels of paranormal activity. Trust me.

The unnatural things Nico noticed surrounding Thomas started off small, so small he didn’t even really notice them until he looked back on them. It was in miniscule details, such as the cutlery seemingly straightening itself when they went out for lunch on their third meet-up, or how Thomas’ clothes seemed to fix themselves as they walked through the park one evening (Nico had just assumed it was the wind ruffling the material until they parted ways and he realised that Thomas’ shirt had apparently neatly tucked itself in).

It wasn’t until the first time he stayed over at Thomas’ that he realised there was something _off_.

The two had met up to chat over a Starbucks, which had led to the duo talking and laughing for _three whole hours_ , when Thomas asked if Nico wanted to come back to his to play the game he’d just been talking about, and Nico had agreed with very little thought. They hadn’t known each other that long, but he trusted Thomas enough, plus he was genuinely interested to see what about this game made the other man so enthralled.

The decision was made easier by his mind practically squealing out to him that _yes, going to his house is definitely the next big step in your relationship, maybe you could even ask to make it official while you’re there!_

(That idea had to get shut down though. Sure, he was almost _embarrassingly_ smitten with Thomas, but they’d only met up what? Six times? Including the mall incident. As much as he wanted to run into this relationship headfirst he knew rushing into it too fast could end up hurting both of them.)

The two continued talking as they strolled towards Thomas’ house. The walk seemed to go on forever yet pass in an instance at the same time, and were those butterflies in Nico’s stomach? Was he really getting butterflies at the concept of seeing Thomas’ house???

He huffed lightly to himself Thomas talking next to him as the pair turned onto a residential road. Who gave this guy the right to affect him like this?

Soon they reached the door of a simple, two-story house. “For real though, I don’t understand how you’ve never heard of Undertale before!” Thomas said, reaching for his keys.

Nico tried his best to stay calm, laughing lightly, “I guess it just slipped by me! I mean, you know I never really played any games past Minecraft.”

Thomas smiled, “Well that’s gonna have to change soon, mister! Give it an hour and you’ll be invested as heck!” And with that the two of them stepped inside Thomas’ place.

The first thing Nico noticed as he walked into Thomas’ house were the furnishings: the place was nicely decorated, albeit simple, with a basic table and chairs behind some soft-looking brown sofas. There was a unique painting on the wall (Nico decided he like it, very interpretive and aesthetic), the TV and controllers set up in the corner net to a box stuffed with games, and he couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face as he looked around at all the pictures, books and figurines lining Thomas’ shelves. The place felt warm and cosy and inviting and…just so perfectly Thomas!

The second thing he noticed was the pile of thick books spread out on the table. Strolling over, he crooked his neck at the side to read the titles. “Huh, I never knew you were into Chemical Engineering?”

Nico heard a small yelp behind him, followed by Thomas speed walking over to the books. “I-I’m not! I mean, not really! Well I used to be, before I went down the acting route instead.” He quickly began scooping up the books, stacking them up in a pile in the corner of the room, “These books are just Joan’s I guess? Must’ve left them over here yesterday?”

“Cool,” Nico said nonchalantly (he decided to ignore Thomas’ more nervous behaviour, he knew the man had issues keeping his anxiety in check). He clapped his hands together, “So, why don’t you show me exactly what I’ve been oh-so missing out on in the world of gaming?” he smiled at his crush cheekily.

He got a slightly tense smile in return, “R-right!” Thomas said, moving over to the TV to set up ‘Undertale’.

If he caught Thomas frowning slightly in the direction of the sofa from the corner of his eye, Nico thought no more of it.

(At least back then he didn’t)

The duo went on to play the game of choice for almost 4 hours. Nico was actually pleasantly surprised; much like Thomas had said, he’d got invested in the plot quickly, growing fond of the quirky characters and gotten fully absorbed in the game. He was the one controlling their character (which in the end they’d called ‘Nico’ due to Thomas’ insistence, despite his own pleading to call their avatar ‘Karrot’), with Thomas beside him, giving him advice and joking around as Nico struggled through the battles (he really wasn’t a gamer). They’d even decided at the beginning to split who voiced each character, adding a layer of hilarity to the whole thing. Nico didn’t think he’d ever forget Thomas’ attempt at a grandiose Papyrus impression!

Nico saved the game after _finally_ outrunning Undyne, before putting the remote down. He felt his pulse quicken as he turned on his phone to check the time. _How was it already 8???_ He should really get going now, especially considering he had work tomorrow.

He sighed, standing up and stretching. “Sorry Thomas, I need to head off now. It’s getting late.” Thomas glanced down at his own phone, eyes widening as he saw the digits glaring back at him. Heh, guess he wasn’t the only one who lost track of time.

“Jeez, sorry for keeping you so long. I-I know you need your new lyrics finished by tomorrow, and yet I kept you here all this time…” Nico felt his heart sink at Thomas’ self-deprecation. It hurt him that the guy got so negative on himself sometimes, if only he could see what Nico saw in him…

Nico still decided to do his best to cheer the other up, “Don’t be sorry, I had fun tonight! We should hang out like this more often?”

The smile Thomas gave him felt brighter than any sunshine. “Yeah, I’d like that! Besides you need to come and finish Undertale! I-I mean, only if y-you want to,” he stammered, smile still shining, albeit a bit sheepishly.

Nico reached out and placed a hand on Thomas’ shoulder, “Listen here Señor Sanders, I said I had fun today, and that I’d like to hang out like this again. What part of that makes you think I wouldn’t want to continue playing?”

“Good point, you sans-sation.” Thomas muttered, a blush spreading across his face. Nico could feel his own face heating up as they stood there for a moment.

(God, how much Nico wanted to kiss Thomas right then was insane. If the two of them hadn’t agreed to take it slow to make sure they were really both ready to commit to a proper relationship Nico probably wouldn’t of been able to stop himself.)

The duo settled for a hug instead, arms comfortably wrapped around each other. The silence continued for a few more seconds before Thomas spoke, “You know…you could stay over tonight if you want? It’s getting a bit late to head off, and I have a spare room…”

Nico thought it through for a moment. He didn’t really want to have to walk alone in the dark at this time, and Thomas’ place was what? A further five minutes journey away from work than his own? Yeah, that was fine.

(Quite honestly, Thomas’ place could’ve been an hour away from his workplace and he would’ve agreed.)

“Sounds great, thanks.” Nico said. The hug around him got that little bit firmer. He felt like his skin was alight. He felt lighter than air.

And Nico would’ve stayed in his giddy state if he hadn’t been facing the corner where the chemical engineering books were.

Well, where they had been.

Strange, when had Thomas moved them? Maybe when he went to the loo earlier on? But why? Wasn’t Joan coming to pick them up soon?

Thomas pulled out of the hug, keeping his hands resting on Nico’s forearms. “As happy as I am you’re staying, we should probably stop playing video games now. You know, keeping up a healthier lifestyle, right?”

Nico shrugged, “Whatever floats your boat captain. As if I could get in between someone and their dreams of achieving better life choices.”

“Hey! They’re not dreams! At least they won’t be once I transfer them into reality!” Nico chuckled as the other struck a dramatic pose. Thomas was an odd ball, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Well then how about some Disney? Or Pixar?” Nico suggested.

Thomas thought for a few seconds before answering, “It has been too long since I’ve watched Inside Out; you up for some wild emotions?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Both he and Thomas sat back down on the soft brown sofa, ready to settle into the feel-good-and-kinda-sad-film. It was only as Thomas was scrolling through Netflix to find the movie that Nico realised something was iffy. After a couple seconds Nico pinned what was causing the off feeling: the Xbox had been turned off, the pile of cables attaching the console neatly tucked away, the controller placed on the side table beside other various remotes, _and certainly not how things had been left before the duo stood up._

…Huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave any notes or improvements! I'm not the best at characterisation so any tips would be appreciated!  
> Also yeah, this one was mainly fluff, but then again who doesn't need some fluff every now and then?


	3. Incident 2: The Sentient Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A date turns sour and events leave Nico feeling a little bit sick.

The second “major haunting red flag” happened out on a date: it was the first time the two of them had gone to a more formal setting, placing aside their casual daytime meetups for a more romantic dinner out.

Both of them were nervous to say the least, their normally natural conversation feeling slightly stilted. This was _a proper date_ \- well, not that their other dates _weren’t_ proper dates, but this one was so…official! It wasn’t just meeting up to talk, this was in a romantic setting with a romantic meal and a romantic atmosphere and why did Nico feel so nervous why couldn’t he think of anything to say-

Oops, he was spiralling. He couldn’t remember the last time his thoughts had done that over something as small as a meal out.

Guess this one meant a lot to him.

Nico glanced in front of him to see Thomas smiling nervously back. ‘ _Okay, we’re both nervous,’_ he thought, _‘I just need to find a way to properly break the ice again? Maybe I should mention that I finally checked out Hamilton? Yeah, that’s a good place to start.’_ He was just about to bring up his new-found interest in the musical when a shadow caught his eye.

Now, a shadow in itself isn’t anything special. But when it’s a shadow with no source, standing to the right of the person you’re eating with, it’s a bit of a different situation.

Nico found himself squinting at it – it definitely wasn’t a normal shadow, seeming almost 3D, standing next to Thomas rather than hitting the wall behind him. As he kept staring, the shadow seemed to shift, almost…uncomfortably?

“…Nico?”

The man started, turning to an expectant but amused Thomas. Shoot, he’d completely blanked out there. “Um, sorry, can you repeat that?”

His date chuckled, hand reaching up to fix his hair (a nervous tic of his that Nico had recognised early on) and repeated himself; “I was just wondering what had you so focused?”

Nico paused for a moment. Could he tell Thomas about the thing next to him? Did Thomas even know it was there? Did Thomas even know he was haunted? What if Thomas thought he was crazy for mentioning it and then he’d reconsider everything about their relationship and they’d part ways before even officially getting together and it would be Nico’s fault for opening his mouth and spilling all that-

Nope. No spiralling.

He made up his mind. He could tell Thomas some other time, a time where both of them were a bit less stressed and everything was a bit less formal. Besides, it wasn’t like the shadow was doing anything…

He took a deep breath before speaking: “Nothing really. Was just…thinking about how I finally listened to Hamilton.”

Nico felt a little guilty for withholding his thoughts from Thomas, but he decided it was worth it when _that breath-taking spark ignited in his eyes_. The whole restaurant seemed to light up with his date’s enthusiasm, and the poet could only watch in awe as Thomas praised the musical.

He glanced to the right for a moment as the duo began discussing the individual songs. The shadow was gone. Feeling satisfied (for now), Nico fully committed to the conversation.

…

“King George? Have to say that seems like a fun role to play, but any reason why you chose him?” Nico questioned, taking a sip from his water. The duo had finished their mains, and were now just waiting for dessert, yet Hamilton was still the main topic of conversation (it was quite amazing how much knowledge Thomas had on the play, from pointing out the historical inaccuracies to his stories of meeting _the original cast, like what????_ ). The night had honestly flown by, and all the tension between the pair had long since vanished.

“Well duh, who wouldn’t want to play some crazy British King? Plus “You’ll be Back” is an absolute bop!” Thomas said, arms moving dramatically as if that would help prove his point.

(Honestly, could this man get more adorable?)

“Yeah well what about the Lafayette- Thomas Jefferson duo? Then you get an awesome rap solo and “What did I Miss?”” Nico replied, pulling himself back in his seat as he realised how far across the table he’d began leaning as he got enraptured in the conversation.

His date raised his hand to his chin, pulling an overdramatic thoughtful pose; “I see your point, but I guess I’m just not that much of a rapper. Besides, Roman would never let me pass up the chance to play literal royalty!”

Nico was about to continue his argument (why wouldn’t you choose the role which involved rapping with a French accent?) when he realised something. “Roman?” he inquired.

Nico was genuinely just curious – Thomas seemed to have such a vast variety of friends, each with hilarious and interesting stories from experiences Thomas had shared with them. He was excited to here more of these amazing stories.

The last thing he expected was for Thomas to freeze like a deer in the headlights.

“Y-yeah, Roman! Just a friend of mine! A fellow actor! Been in a few things with him over the years.” The words seemed forced, even as Thomas tried to quickly recover from his moment of shock.

Nico felt his heart sink slightly; the tension that had dispersed earlier had returned, the conversation begging to be grinded back to an awkward halt. The man tried quickly to undo whatever damage had been done. “Nice, maybe you can show me some of your stuff sometime,” he said casually ( _too casually,_ his mind cringed). Nico felt his heart plummet as he saw panic in Thomas’ eyes. Shit! Maybe Thomas didn’t want to think about Roman? What if he was just digging up bad memories for Thomas? Maye there was a reason Thomas hadn’t mentioned this friend up until this point? Shit, shit, _shit!_ “Are you okay?” he gently asked, reaching over the table to ground Thomas, only for the man to move his hand away at the last moment.

The hair-fixing was back. “Yup! Everything’s fine! Why wouldn’t it be?” the waver in his voice hurt Nico’s chest, but not as much as the realisation that the nervous habit wasn’t the only thing that returned.

He tried to keep speaking calmly, _as if there wasn’t a dark cloud of a person that doesn’t exist by Thomas’ side_. “You just seem a little…nervous?” The shadow seemed to be fluctuating rapidly when Nico snuck a glance at it. Upon his look, the shadow seemed to grow darker.

The man opposite him was practically shaking at this point. “No it’s-”

Filling steadily with a feeling of dread, Nico butted in to try and fix things one final time: “Thomas- “

Before he could even get his words out, Thomas stood abruptly and gasped out, “Bathroom! J-just need the bathroom!” and fled without another word.

Had-

Had Nico seen that correctly?

He felt like his organs were falling from a tall building.

What did that mean?

What did _that imply?_

Oh god, Thomas…

Nico sat there in silence, thinking intensely as a sense of vertigo kicked in. His head felt like it was splitting behind as Nico tried to comprehend _what on earth he’d just seen?_ He didn’t even realise Thomas had returned until the guy began speaking.

“Sorry, just got a tad too anxious for some reason. Guess it’s… just been a while since I’ve gone on a proper date?” Thomas spoke shyly, head slightly bowed in embarrassment.

Nico might’ve been able to believe what Thomas said if he hadn’t just witnessed…that. “Hey, it’s no problem, as long as you’re alright.” He said anyways, tongue feeling dirty at lying to the man who was quickly becoming one of the most important figures in his life (what choice did he have? Thomas would probably think he’s crazy if he expressed his true concerns).

“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better now. Sorry if I worried you.” Nico was relieved that Thomas seemed to genuinely feel better. Even if Nico himself was trying really hard not to go into a breakdown at that moment.

“It’s fine Thomas, really.” No, it wasn’t. But what else could he say? “So, you wanna go back to you place after this? I could use some help on that song demo I showed you yesterday. No plagiarising Hamilton though! Or any musical or Disney film for that matter!”

That earnt him a soft laugh from Thomas, and the start up of a more relaxed, albeit less enthusiastic conversation. In any other scenario that would’ve left Nico more than happy; with the date back on track and Thomas feeling better.

But it was really hard to feel anything but a dark sense of foreboding when he’d just witnessed a shadow grab his date’s sleeve and yank him from the table towards the toilets.

Whatever ghosts were around could interact with the real world.

And they were doing something to Thomas.

Nico’s insides were still falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooohhh ThiNgS aRe GeTtInG sPoOpY!!
> 
> Also thank you so much for the support you guys have been giving this fic so far! The nice comments honestly make my day!


	4. Incident 2.5: Deod- what the fueh???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trash-man messes with Nico. On purpose? No one will ever know...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is an extremely short chapter - the shortest one in the fic!  
> I'm busy for the next few days with volunteer work, so I'm putting a forewarning now that I might take a couple extra days to update.  
> It's just a maybe though; I'll try to keep churning out these chapters!

Nico was honestly lost on whether to even count the next incident as an incident – well, it was definitely _an incident_ , but he just had no clue how he was actually meant to feel about it.

He didn’t even want to think about it.

(Did he really ever to think about any of the supernatural, freaky shit that he’d witnessed over the past few weeks though?)

It was a short one, and Thomas hadn’t even been present. The two had begun officially dating just a week prior (he swore he hadn’t stopped smiling once for a whole three days once they made it ‘official’, his mind buzzing constantly with _how lucky he was to have Thomas_ and _holy boiled carrots he had an amazing boyfriend what did he do to deserve this joy?_ ) and had been watching “The Nightmare Before Christmas” together one afternoon when Nico decided to have a quick toilet break. He’d already become much more wary of his surroundings (especially in Thomas’ house), prepared to be faced with another odd, unnatural event at any moment.

He hadn’t been prepared for… _this_.

He turned the bathroom light and was more confused than shocked when he found an object hovering in mid-air, bouncing from side to side slightly as if the ghost holding it was grooving to a song that wasn’t there.

As Nico made his way properly into the room the object fell to the floor. That didn’t surprise him as much as it probably should’ve; the spirits always seemed to stop what they were doing when they noticed he was looking (or at least tried to be more subtle – often failing). Maybe they were just comfortable around Thomas, even if Thomas wasn’t aware of their presence? Maybe they trusted him? Maybe they were just trying to be friendly to his boyfriend (oh my god he could actually refer to Thomas as his boyfriend now his _heart couldn’t take this_ – no, not the time for that)?

God he hoped they were trying to be friendly.

As he moved closer to pick the item off the floor he noted that the object was a deodorant flavoured- _Pickled Poo Logs?_ His first thought was that he was at least 110% sure Thomas didn’t use that flavour, the second being that he was pretty sure that wasn’t a flavour _that existed_.

Maybe it was just a prop? Thomas was an actor after all.

Then he noticed the bite taken out of it.

And the shaving cream on the mirror squirted in the shape of multiple dicks.

…

Nico decided not to question it. _Any_ of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nico ended up cleaning the bathroom. Thomas wondered why it took his boyfriend (eek!!!) twenty minutes to go to the toilet.


	5. Incident 3: A Hat and an Apology(?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Objects move, ghosts are a thing, and items of clothing suddenly come into existence. Wait, what was that last one again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the slightly longer gap in updates, I've just had a busy week!
> 
> Also I'm not fully happy with this chapter, but I tried my best!

By this point there was no denying it.

Thomas was haunted.

And the ghosts had some sort of power over Thomas.

…

Nico was trying really, really hard not to freak out. And was failing miserably.

Moving objects and slight unnatural drafts were one thing, a thing that Nico might have even been willing to look over. It was the shadow that had really bugged him: that night it had seemed like there was a direct link between Thomas and the weird shadow, Thomas getting more distressed as the _thing_ got darker and more visible, until it (or some other spirit) quite literally forced his boyfriend away from him.

What did these ghosts want with Thomas?

What if they wanted to hurt Thomas?

The thought made him feel sick.

He needed to do something, anything to figure out this situation: no doubt he’d need to bring it up with Thomas at some point, so he might as well be as well informed as possible when the confrontation happens, right?

No, he definitely wasn’t stalling at all. _Definitely_.

So Nico began taking notes (the dork he is), keeping his eyes out for more incidents and jotting down his findings in a word document whenever he was alone and absolutely sure _no lovely but extremely haunted boyfriend_ could take a peek over his shoulder. He had soon found himself wandering how the hell he hadn’t noticed the ghosts sooner. He could barely count the number of objects he’d seen being not-so-subtly moved back into correct places (he almost lost it as he watched a dirty top slowly being nudged across the floor for a good 10 minutes towards the washing machine as he and Thomas curled up on the sofa), let alone the game of the moving the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ poster, which seemed to be in a different spot of the house every time he came over. He’d even spotted the odd “shadows” a couple more times; a bright blue smudge that seemed to follow him and Thomas to the cinema, and a light green one that he’d spotted one night when he stayed over at Thomas’ just as he was getting into bed (needless to say it took Nico a bit longer than usual to get to sleep that night). So far they’d shown no ill intention (other than the green one apparently watching him and Thomas attempt to sleep), which was at least a little stress relieving.

Then just as Nico was feeling like he was beginning to understand the phenomenons enough to bring it up with his boyfriend, the whole situation just _had to flip right back into a chaotic mess that Nico didn’t even know how to start untangling_.

He’d been planning on bringing up the concept of ghosts to Thomas later that day (though knowing how much he’d been trying to put off that conversation who knows if Nico would’ve actually gone through with it), when it happened: Nico had just been packing up his few belongings before heading home after a night over. Thomas had left just a few minutes prior, having to rush off to a rehearsal for his latest show, and Nico was planning to leave quickly afterwards (despite being at least moderately comfortable around the ghosts the thought of being in the haunted house alone for too long sent shivers down Nico’s spine). He’d just finished stuffing his toothbrush in the small rucksack he’d brought over when a hat fell onto the floor.

A hat.

That fell.

From nowhere.

It just…appeared.

Nico shrieked.

_What in the name of all things football and/or skateboarding was this!?!?!?!_

He stared uncomprehendingly at the black bowler hat for a few seconds, before nervously edging over to it. Slowly, Nico picked up the item of clothing.

Yup, it was corporeal.

Ho boy…

He studied the hat in front of him. It seemed like any normal black bowler hat (minus the fact it had appeared from freaking nowhere!), clearly well taken care of if the pristine condition was anything to go by. Nico looked inside it to see the initials “J.S.” neatly sewn on the inside rim in yellow thread.

Maybe hat belong to a ghost from the Victorian era (that was when people wore hats like this, right? History was not Nico’s forte)? That wouldn’t explain why Nico could touch it though. He could feel a headache coming on, his mind whirring through ideas to find some logical explanation for the current situation, some more outlandish than others.

Maybe it was a very powerful type of ghost? Maybe it was more than a ghost? What if it was a _demon? What if it was trying to possess Thomas? What if it was trying to possess him???_

Nico had just lifted his arm to chuck the hat across the room, when another item appeared, freezing him in his tracks: this time it was a small piece of paper flitting down onto the floor from the empty space it materialised at. Upon closer inspection Nico realised it was a note, written in an elegant cursive font that he would’ve believed someone had slaved over to perfect if it wasn’t for the way the writing sloped messily along the sheet.

He picked up the rushed note and began to read:

_I’m so sorry for scaring you like that, it definitely wasn’t hilarious at all. Now as much as I love watching you freak out over a hat, I have business to attend to so I’d appreciate you not throwing my precious belongings and minding your own business._

_Oh, and don’t tell Thomas about this yet. Watching him flounder around in a panic is way too fun and wholesome to end so soon. Besides, he’s not ready._

_All the best,_

_A snake boi._

Honestly, Nico was more confused than before the note appeared, but he carefully placed the hat back down on the floor regardless. He read over the note again…and again. Then one more time for good measure.

He needed to sit down.

This…this was _too much._

This was beyond a normal “haunting”! Items of clothing don’t just appear! Ghosts don’t casually write notes telling you to give their stuff back! Nico glanced over at the space near the door to Thomas’ bedroom, a sense of nausea he hadn’t felt since he first saw the weird shadows returning at the absence of a hat from the spot. He slowly sunk onto the bed, trying once again to figure out what on Earth he was going to do.

Dammit! He had finally thought he had a grip on the situation and now he was spiralling back to the panic of day one! His mind was moving too fast, thoughts being replaced or thrown aside by new ones before Nico had a chance to focus on them. He couldn’t think like this!

One thing was clear though: _he needed to talk with Thomas._

Nico nodded to himself. Yeah, just focus on that. Don’t think about all the bullshit, focus on Thomas. Thomas, his boyfriend who meant the world to him. Thomas, who praised his work and encouraged his ideas daily. Thomas, who told him about all his amazing life experiences and lit up a room when he talked about his interests. Thomas, who Nico cared for more than anyone else and who cared for him in return and who when he was with everything just seemed…better.

Taking a final deep breath, Nico smiled lightly to himself. Sure, things were weird and scary and confusing, but he could talk to Thomas about it tonight. And he _will_ talk to him tonight.

_“he’s not ready.”_

Nico blinked as the line from the letter popped back into the forefront of his mind. That’s right; the ~~ghost~~ ~~demon~~ whatever had said not to tell Thomas…yet. But was that the right thing to do? Did the thing actually want what was best for Thomas? What if Thomas really just wasn’t ready to deal with the issue yet? Then again what if the thing was just trying to take advantage and stop the duo from getting help with this whole haunting-possession-situation?

No, that didn’t seem too likely. While most of the note had been a bit rude towards Nico and overly sarcastic, it seemed to be more jokey than malicious (I mean, it was literally signed “ _A snake boi_ ”). And something about how it was written just made it feel like the ghost meant it. Like it seriously wanted what was best for Thomas.

That was how despite the small voice in the back of his head warning him that _this was a trap, the thing is tricking you, go get help while you can_ , Nico found himself clearing his throat to talk to the empty room.

“So…hi?” he said, feeling pretty stupid and awkward as he talked to the air around him. “I’m not sure if you’re still here, but I think we need to talk. You said something about not telling Thomas yet, and…I’m going to trust you on that, okay? But next time something big happens, I’m telling him, no matter what. Sorry if that’s not what you want, but I want what’s best for Thomas, which I think would be to know about this…whatever it is.”

Nico awkwardly trailed off, looking around the room as if expecting an answer. When nothing came, he sighed, picking up his bag and exiting the room.

Not before he saw a small blur of yellow reflected in the window.

Nico could wait a little while longer before telling Thomas. I mean, they’d been fine for this long, it’s not like things would suddenly change now…

…right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nico is reaching his limit with how much more crap he can put up with....


	6. Incident 4: The Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late night encounter!

It was less than a week later when Nico inevitably snapped.

After the case with the bowler hat, there had been very little paranormal activity, which should’ve been a good thing. Instead, it put Nico more on edge than ever. Where were they? Why weren’t they doing anything? Was it because of what he said? If that’s the case why were they so desperate for Thomas not to find out?

The man in question was not blind to Nico’s vigilant behaviour, giving him questioning looks as he accidentally zoned out of conversations to study the room around them. By day three Thomas had casually asked if there was something wrong, which Nico declined (boy didn’t that make him feel guilty). He was a bit more subtle with his searching after that.

Still, minus the occasional shift of an item on a shelf, or the continuation of “Move the Disney Poster Around the House”, there was nothing.

Nico honestly felt like he was going insane.

He still tried to enjoy the time with his boyfriend; which was still relievingly easy. There was something special about Thomas that just made all Nico’s worries and issues fade away for a while. The duo had been officially dating for around two months (two months, nine days, three hours and twenty four minutes, his brain oh-so-helpfully supplied), and Nico was still embarrassingly head over heels for his counterpart.

If only the problems plaguing (or haunting) them both could just go away, allowing them both to fully enjoy their days together…

Incident four was the latest incident to happen, and Nico was still shaken from it. It had happened during the night, and had gone something like this:

Nico woke with a small snort, jolting from his sleep hours before he had to for some godforsaken reason. Slowly, he reached over and checked his phone on the nightstand.

3:26.

Nico groaned, voice raspy as he turned back over to sleep again. Only he couldn’t. He lay there for a couple minutes, drowsy as anything yet unable to quite nod off.

He swallowed, eyebrows wrinkling at his throat’s reaction – should your oesophagus feel like sandpaper when you swallowed?

Maybe he needed a drink.

It took five minutes of convincing, but eventually Nico got his feet to move out of the duvet and onto the floor. He trudged his way to the bathroom, turned on the tap and took a few gulps.

Ah, that was better.

Feeling ready to fall fully asleep once more, Nico began to stumble back to the bedroom. He was just about to enter again when he heard humming from behind him. Drowsily, he turned to see Thomas strolling down the corridor, fingering the pictures on the wall.

“Thomas?”

His boyfriend wheezed, whipping round to face him, a hand reaching up to run through his hair as he practically stumbled into a more casual position.

“Nico?? What’re you doing up?” Thomas whispered. If Nico was a bit more awake, he probably would’ve noticed the panic in his love’s eyes.

But Nico was not more awake, so he answered, “Just needed a drink…” despite being half asleep, one lazy thought popped into the man’s foggy head. “…also I could ask you th’ same question.” He struggled getting the words out right. He really just wanted to get back to bed.

“Me? I’m just…getting a drink as well? I can’t sleep?” Thomas seemed to be questioning the words coming out of his mouth, not that half asleep Nico thought much of it (morning Nico would be kicking him for not picking up the oddness of what was happening then).

“Aaww m’sorry hon, wish I could do s’mthing bout that…” he mumbled out.

A small smile appeared on Thomas’ face as he asked, “How awake are you right now?”

“Mmmm…like not very?”

The smile grew wider to the point it would normally remind Nico of the sun. Right now it just reminded him of the warmth of their bed. “Well then let’s get you back to bed my darling dreamer.” With that his boyfriend gently took his hand and began leading him back into the bedroom.

“Wha’ bout you?”

“I still need to get my drink, remember?”

“M’kay…” Another sluggish thought forced it’s way into Nico’s brain as he felt a silky sleeve brush against his arm. “What’re you wearing?”

Thomas’ free hand dramatically went to his chest, his voice somehow sounding like it was being projected for an audience to hear while also being no more than a whisper, “A gorgeous ensemble for a gorgeous man!” he proclaimed semi-dramatically (which by anyone else’s standpoint was very dramatic, but this is Thomas we’re talking about).

Nico couldn’t deny that: the red, long sleeved pyjamas indeed suited Thomas perfectly, the shirt pocket embroidered with a crest of sorts. It looked almost regal and…really comfy.

Nico took the sleeve in both hands, feeling the fabric as he rubbed Thomas’ arms. “t’s nice. Soft.”

A small squeak left Thomas’ throat before he cleared it and continued; “Glad you have such good taste, Flores.” His boyfriend gently pushed down on his shoulders, alerting Nico that he was now standing beside the bed. As Nico began curling back under the covers, Thomas whispered, “Goodnight my sleepy knight in cotton armour.”

“Wha’s with th’ names?” he mumbled as sleep began to fully claim him again.

“I have a lot of emotions right now.” Thomas was practically squealing at this point, hugging himself with one arm while the other was pressed to his cheek.

Nico snorted at the odd (but undeniably adorable) reaction, eyes forcing themselves shut. “Night you weirdo.”

He felt a small kiss being placed on his cheek, “I hope you know just how much Th- I love you.” The tone was serious but endearing, and Nico felt himself smile as he drifted off.

“Love you too…”

The next morning Nico woke up feeling refreshed. It was the weekend, one of the few times that the couple could relax into their bad sleeping habits.

Speaking of bad sleeping habits…

Nico huffed lightly. Yup, there was Thomas; still passed out on the bed, covers kicked off and stretched out to take up _definitely over half the bed_.

The poet stroked some of the hair off his boyfriend’s face. Could he blame the other for being passed out right now? He was still awake when Nico got a drink last night, and he knew what Thomas was like when he…

Huh, last night? Nico searched in his mind for memories of what had happened (curse his sleepy brain!). He remembered waking up with a saw throat, going to get water, then there was Thomas…but- that didn’t- why would he…?

As his brain began waking up, he slowly pieced together the snippets he remembered from the 3am conversation. He remember Thomas in the corridor saying he needed to get a drink, but he’d been going the wrong way to go to either the toilet or the kitchen? Then there were the nicknames, the self-questioning, and something soft…

Nico’s eyes snapped to Thomas’ chest: he was wearing that old pizza shirt he loved so much, and Nico vaguely remembered him wearing it to bed the night before.

But then?

No.

Maybe it was a dream?

But that didn’t feel right.

While normally he’d happily let the man sleep, Nico began shaking Thomas awake.

“Hey Thomas…?” he got a small groan in response, as the actor tried to wriggle away from the fiend who dared disturb his slumber.

Not that it stopped Nico right then. He was too busy trying not to panic to focus on feelings.

Maybe there was an explanation to all this?

Despite the obvious lack of awareness from his counterpart, Nico asked, “Do you own any red pyjamas?”

He held his breath as he waited for a response. Time seemed to slow.

After a lifetime of waiting, he got a muffled “No…why would I…?” from beneath the pillows Thomas had dumped on his own face.

The pit was back in Nico’s stomach.

And everything was being sucked into it. Was there a black hole turning all his insides to dust?

“N-no reason.” He stuttered out. He didn’t hear as Thomas moaned and turned right back over into Snoozeville. His mind was long gone.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuck fuck fuck FUCK!!!!!!_

Why did _it_ look like Thomas????

‘ _Just calm down, I’m sure there’s a perfectly good, logical reason behind this,’_ a part of his mind attempted to sooth him. That part was quickly shut down.

That was it.

It didn’t matter what bowler-hat-ghost said (god why did he listen to a ghost _in the first place!?!?_ ).

It was time to talk to Thomas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I'm not the happiest with this one, but things are about to heat up!


	7. Incident 5: Listening In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few harsh truths click into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about as angsty as this fic gets...
> 
> Still not very angsty though. Well, at least not by my normal standards!

And that was what had led to this: Nico was hiding in the bathroom, attempting to mentally prepare himself for whatever came next. Thomas was already downstairs, and he was meant to go down and join…

It was just building up the nerve to do it.

Yes, he’d decided that morning that he was finally gonna bring up the figurative elephant in the room, but how should he actually bring it up without sounding crazy? Sure; he didn’t see how Thomas _wouldn’t_ of noticed the supernatural activity around him, but what if he hadn’t?? He’d think Nico was losing it and _then he’d break up with him and then Nico would be alone forever and in fifty years he’d be known as the poor old man who scared off his last chance at love because he claimed he was haunted and oh god maybe this wasn’t such a good idea maybe he should think this through a bit more-_

No, that was stupid. He’d thought this through for long enough, and things were getting too serious to push aside for later.

He was not going to back down again.

Splashing his face with water (he was an overdramatic king and he knew it), he stared at himself one final time in the mirror. His tanned skin looked paler than usual, limbs shaking slightly out of nerves and anticipation.

Oh well, it didn’t really matter how he looked. ~~Thomas was probably gonna dump him after this anyways.~~

Attempting to block the _less than helpful_ thoughts, Nico quickly fled the bathroom and headed down the corridor. He just needed to get this over and done with, rip the band-aid off, y’know?

He reached the top of the staircase when he heard a conversation coming from below:

“-don’t know, I feel like he’s getting suspicious.” That was Thomas speaking. Maybe he was on the phone?

Something stopped him from walking down the stairs though. A feeling. Probably something to do with the word “suspicious”. It made Nico feel suspicious himself. Before he knew it he was hiding around the corner, flat against the wall like someone straight out a cheesy spy film.

“I know!” Thomas kept speaking to whoever was on the other side of the call. “What do we do Lo?” A few seconds of silence before Thomas scoffed, “Wow, that’s really helpful!” A sigh. “Sorry, sorry, I know, it’s just this hasn’t happened before. I suppose…I just don’t want to lose him.”

Nico felt a twinge of guilt settle in his stomach. He really shouldn’t be listening into this, it sounded pretty private…and possibly about him?

He was about to turn around the corner when he heard another voice come from the living room:

“Well Thomas, shouldn’t him finding out about us be a good thing?” It sounded…like Thomas? But more…regal? “He’ll get to learn more about you even faster!”

Another voice spoke up, and Nico almost had a heart attack when he realised it was coming from the bottom of the stairs (what if this ghost-Thomas-demon-thing had seen him???) “Yeah well Thomas isn’t ready for that!” The voice sounded annoyed, slightly panicked, and weirdly…staticky? As if the voice was coming through an old radio.

The regal tone spoke again; “Don’t be silly, My Chemical Imbalance! Of course he’s ready!”

A new voice spoke, even less clear than the other to the point Nico couldn’t make out all the words spoken. “I-I have to side with ------ -- ---- ---, kiddo. Thomas just…isn’t ----- -- ----- something like this.”

Nico was vaguely aware he was freaking out. His light tremors of nervousness had increased to shivers wracking his body. His head felt like it was splitting open. But he kept listening.

Regal-toned Thomas spoke again (was it Thomas just speaking to himself? No, it sounded like it was coming from a different point in the room). “Well Joan and Talyn found out, and look how well that went!”

“Well they had already known Thomas --- years, and they’re…--------- ---- Nico.”

Oh god, staticky-voice was talking about him confirmed. He swallowed the taste of bile rising up his throat.

A new voice joined; crisp, clear and neutral (how many of them were there??), “How? All three of them are perfectly adequate examples of standard human beings, there is very little separating the quality of health, mental capacity or physical capability of each unit.”

Staticky-voice replied, “It’s about --- ------ ----- ----- ---, -----.” Nico made out very little of the sentence through the static. Maybe that’s what was giving him a headache?

(A part of him doubted it.)

The newest voice replied, sighing, “Oh, feelings.”

Finally, the _real_ Thomas (or at least the Thomas he knew) spoke up again “I guess…it’s just he’s the first boyfriend I’ve had who’s been able to sense you guys at all and I… I really don’t want to lose him."

Was-was Thomas really sharing his feelings for Nico with a bunch of ghosts? A part of him wanted to feel warm and fuzzy over knowing that Thomas really did care for him. Another part felt like it was dying.

The clearest of the voices (well maybe minus the royal guy) spoke again, “Well Thomas, keep in mind that if previous evidence is anything to go by then the closer you get with Nico, the higher the probability will be that he’ll obtain the ability to view and interact with us. You should probably consider talking to him about it before-”

Nico blinked in confusion as the conversation downstairs suddenly cut off. Then he fell right back into panic. Did they notice he was there? Were they waiting for him to reveal himself? _What was he supposed to do?_

Before he had a chance to make up his mind Thomas spoke again, “Yeah, you’re right, I suppose. I…wouldn’t want that to happen.” Oh, so the conversation had continued. Thomas let out a sad sigh. “Just give me a bit more time to prepare, okay?”

Nico decided to leave then, returning to the bathroom. He turned the light back on, locked the door, and sat down on the floor. He wasn’t quite sure when he’d started crying, but he was currently wiping away the steady stream of tears trailing his cheeks.

He was feeling a lot of feelings. And he didn’t know how to process them.

He felt relief: he wasn’t crazy, and Thomas knew something was going on as well. He felt a small piece of comfort knowing Thomas was just as worried about the situation as Nico, albeit for different reasons. He felt panic because oh god, while it meant he wasn’t going crazy it also meant that his boyfriend was 100% definitely haunted in one way or another. But all those feelings were overwhelmed with...with…

Hurt.

It really freaking hurt.

Thomas knew. He knew from the start that all this stuff was happening, and just hadn’t bothered to tell his own boyfriend?? He’d just left Nico to feel like he was losing his mind for the last few months, just hoping that somehow he wouldn’t notice all the weird shit that was going on??? Gosh, he was so stupid! He knew from the start this was a possibility, but he always glossed over it without thinking too much about it! He'd figured Thomas just didn't know, or was just as scared and confused as he was...but not this. Never this.

If Thomas already knew he was haunted, did he really not trust Nico enough to open up about it?

He’d thought they’d been honest with each other, about themselves, about their pasts, about their feelings…

Had Nico just been kidding himself?

 _‘No, that’s unreasonable. I know Thomas loves me, and I love him.’_ He reminded himself.

 _‘But he lied to me’_ another part of him argued.

_‘Well I didn’t tell him about my suspicions either’_

_‘That’s because I thought I was going crazy! He knows the truth! And he kept it from me anyways!’_

Nico shook his head, there was no point arguing with himself. Had Thomas hurt him? Yes ( _he didn’t mean to though!_ ). Did he mean to hurt Nico? It didn’t seem like it. Did they both know about the current issue and were both avoiding it?

Yes, yes they were. Even if Thomas didn’t know that he knows he was still putting off a long overdue conversation.

Did Thomas want more time to prepare? Yes.

Well sorry Thomas.

Nico has waited long enough.


	8. Incident 6: The Cookie Scandal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico struggles with emotions and a confrontation.

It took half an hour for Nico to put himself together enough to go downstairs and face Thomas, war paint blazing (by which he meant he no longer looked like a crying, red, blotchy mess). He found the other in the kitchen, attempting to cook a late breakfast / lunch for the duo.

Now was not the time. Nico was getting this shit sorted out **now**.

“Thomas.” Nico said tersely to alert his boyfriend of his arrival, standing tensely, arms folded while leaning as relaxed as he could manage against the counter. Another small wave of anger thrummed through the poet as Thomas turned around, smiling brightly as if _nothing was wrong, as if he wasn’t hiding a massive life-changing secret from him_.

“Heya babe! Everything all right? I heard you moving around like an hour- “

“Everything’s fine.” Nico winced at the snap in his voice. He hadn’t meant to sound _that_ bitter. Sighing, he spoke again, “Well, it’s not. We…really need to talk. Urgently.”

The smile immediately dropped to a look of concern on the actor’s face (at least he cared that much). He placed the spoon he’d been stirring the ramen with, turned off the hob and went to Nico’s side. He spoke in a softer tone, “Of course, we can talk right now if you want to. I don’t like seeing you all upset.” He reached to grab Nico’s shoulders, to which he moved out the way. Accepting affection from Thomas just hurt too much right now, and he wasn’t going to start crying again!

It hurt just as much to see the dejected look on Thomas’ face at the rejection. “Please tell me Nico, what’s got you feeling so down?”

“If by down, you mean not feeling up to dealing with this bullshit, then the answer is pretty fucking obvious.” He felt immediate regret seeing the look of fear and misery amplify. Shit, he came to confront the problem, not make a new one! “Sorry, I’m just…frustrated. I didn’t mean to snap.”

Thomas stood awkwardly in the centre of the kitchen, and began fiddling with his sleeve anxiously. “It’s- it’s fine? Just please tell me what’s wrong. I mean, as long as your comfortable sharing-“

“No, I want to tell you. Need to, really. I’ve been putting it off long enough.” Nico adjusted his glassed, attempting to regather the sense of calm he’d thought he’d managed to create until he entered the room. “Let’s- let’s just sit down for this, it’s gonna take a while.”

Thomas nodded and headed towards the sofa, while Nico grabbed the jar of cookies. Boy was he gonna need them in this talk. He opened it to find it…weirdly close to empty.

“Hey Thomas?” he said as neutrally as he could manage, “Do you know what happened to all the cookies I bought yesterday?”

“Oh, it was probably just Patt- I mean, I-“

And the paper-thin pretence of “calm” crumpled.

“And who’s ‘Patt’, huh? Another _friend_ of yours?” he could hear his tone wavering wildly as it trembled on the verge of hysteria.

“I-I, well yeah? He’s an old friend who… likes cookies?” It’s like he wasn’t even trying to hide the lie anymore.

Nico clunked the jar onto the table and stormed into the lounge. “Thomas please. Stop.” He wobbled out, and shoot he was crying again.

“I…” Thomas’ shoulder’s slumped as he gave a final dejected sigh, eyes trailing off to the side, “You’re right…this…lying needs to stop. I’m sorry.”

Nico breathed out deeply, Time to rip off the band-aid. “I agree. I’ve been keeping things from you too.” Thomas’ head perked up as Nico took one final breath in. Here goes nothing. “I-I know about the ghosts Thomas, you don’t need to hide it from me.”

The room fell silent. Nico’s eyes fell to the floor as he waited for a response. An answer. A confirmation. Anything. He could feel his boyfriend’s eyes boring into him, and the living room felt more stifling by the second. _Oh god had he messed everything up? Would Thomas never want anything to do with him again? Was Thomas really not ready to deal with this and Nico had just hurt him god he was so selfish-_

“Ghosts?”

Nico snapped back to the present, eyes meeting Thomas’ again to find a look of confusion, brows furrowed.

“Yeah, the ghosts, y’know?” he said, hoping the tremor he heard in his voice wasn’t as prominent as it felt, “The ones that keep making things move? The weird shadows? The ones you were talking with earlier?” The actor’s eyes widened at that. “I know you’re haunted Thomas, I’ve known for a while. I just…I wish you’d trusted me enough to tell me. And I wish I’d told you I knew sooner.”

The two were thrown into silence again for a few moments. Nico was on the verge of slipping back into panic when Thomas spoke:

“They’re…they’re not _actually_ ghosts.”

Now it was Nico’s turn to be confused (for a change). Sure, he hadn’t been completely certain, but he’d still had his bet on ghosts. But if they weren’t ghosts, then what were they? Oh no, what if they really were-

“No, they’re not demons! Or monsters! Or anything bad, I promise!” Thomas exclaimed as he saw the horror spread on Nico’s face.

Phew, that was…slightly relieving. He was still confused though. “Okay, so if they’re not any of…that; then what are they?” he asked.

Thomas’ brow furrowed again, hand raised to his chin in thought, “I’m not quite sure how to explain it. It’s…” Thomas trailed off, eyes trailing to another spot in the room. Just as Nico began wondering if Thomas had really zoned out, the actor turned back to him. “Okay, so you know how everyone kinda has pieces that make up their overall personality? Things like creativity and logical thinking?” Nico nodded, not quite sure where this was going. “Well, mine are kind of…split? In the sense that each has their own consciousness and form?”

…What?

“I mean, they’re still all part of me, they experience everything I do, but they can appear in the real world and give me advice, and…stuff. I call them my sides.”

Nico thought for a few moments. Then a few more. Eventually he said “Okay, all these weird things have been caused by personified traits of you? But then how can I see it? How can they interact with the real world? How- how is any of this even possible?”

“It’s a sort of spectrum I believe. From what I’ve found out everyone has the potential to have sides, your imagination just has to be used correctly. It's not really in a person's control though; how present your sides are, though I know they can become more clear if you reach out and try to understand them. My potential just happened to be a bit…extreme?”

Nico huffed, “You can say that again. They’ve had me half convinced I was losing it!”

Thomas cringed, “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that…”

Something was still bugging Nico, “But if the sides _are_ imaginary, then how come I can see them? One of them even _touched me_!”

“Yeah, Roman wouldn’t shut up about that for hours! As for why…” Thomas hummed in thought, “Joan and Talyn can see my sides most of the time now, but they couldn’t when we first met. For years even. I think it’s something to do with how close you get to the person, how much you trust them, subconsciously or not. I just…didn’t expect it to happen so soon, especially considering you couldn’t sense them at all when we first met.”

“So if I can see them…” Thomas was blushing slightly, and Nico was quickly joining him. If he could see ‘the sides’ this much after just a couple of months, then that meant…

Was he really that close to Thomas already? Did Thomas really trust him that much?

Oh.

The blush was growing fast.

“I have to say I don’t really understand it hon,” Nico said, slumping onto the sofa next to Thomas, “I’m kinda just accepting it at face value right now. My head hurts too much to think.”

“That’s okay, I know it’s a lot to take in.” Thomas sighed, leaning back to relax fully into the worn leather couch.

And Nico felt relaxed too, a heaviness he hadn’t noticed before had left the air, all the months of slowly growing tension finally gone.

And it felt great.

The two sat in silence for a minute, then Thomas spoke: “You know…maybe it’d help for you to properly meet them? You’d get a better understanding of them and I know they all wanna meet you. And while you can’t quite see them, I’m sure there are ways to communicate.”

Nico contemplated the offer; “Can we watch a film first? I just need to calm down a bit.”

“Of course.”

And as the beginning of ‘Coco’ played on the television, Nico felt the last of the tension leave his body.

Thomas was safe.

Thomas loved him.

And that was more than he could ever ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END IS NIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	9. Meeting the Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six official introductions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this one done! Sorry it took a little longer than usual, a mix of tests and writer's block led to a slower process than usual!

“You ready?” asked Thomas, wringing his hands as he tried (and failed) to stifle his nerves.

Nico thought for a moment. The couple were standing in the middle of the living room, having finished the film about 30 minutes ago. There had been procrastination after that, both parties feeling anxious over what came…next. Sure, Thomas had already told Nico about his unique (or apparently not so unique now?) situation, but having formal introductions? _Actually meeting_ the beings that had haunted Nico physically and mentally?

It made it so much more _real_.

But wasn’t that what Nico had wanted?

He nodded, “Yeah. I’m good to go,” he said with a lot more confidence than he felt.

“Okay then…” the actor took a deep breath, closed his eyes and raised one hand in the air. “Patton!” he announced.

Nothing happened.

Nico turned to Thomas in confusion, who was looking at him expectantly. After a second, his boyfriend seemed to realise what was happening, “Oh, can you not see him?”

“He’s there? I thought I was getting better at seeing them.”

“Hey! That’s fine! You won’t be able to see them all properly at once! I know it was a bit hit-or-miss with Joan and Talyn for a while. I was gonna buy a whiteboard before telling you but, well….things changed.” Thomas trailed off awkwardly, grimacing slightly.

“No worries!” Nico quickly spoke up, “Even if I can’t see them, maybe they can carry…an object or something? I tend to see those better.”

Thomas’ smile returned, relaxing a bit, “Okay, that can work until we get some pens. Patton, try summoning something.” Before his eyes, Nico watched as multiple small objects materialised out of nowhere. Actually, those objects looked awfully familiar…

“Are…are those the cookies?” Nico huffed out a laugh as he spoke. The pile of floating cookies paused, before one was slowly offered out towards him. “Thank you…Patton?” he said, looking to Thomas for confirmation as he accepted the offering.

Thomas nodded, “Yep, that’s Patton! He represents my Morality, my sense of right and wrong. He’s dressed to look like a sort of fatherly figure, he loves dad jokes and…” a warm smile spread across his face as the sweet treats seemed to vibrate, “he’s very excited to officially meet you.”

“Well it’s great to meet you too! I just wish I could see you _butter_.” Oof, that was bad. There was a reason he normally left the puns to Thomas.

He still counted it as a win though as the decreasing pile of cookies bounced up and down, a small smudge of blue flashing across his vision.

Thomas blushed slightly as he spoke “Patton says ‘What did we do to _dessert_ you?’”

Nico chuckled fond(ant)ly, a warm feeling spreading from his chest. “Right back at you. Both of you.”

Thomas’ blush grew deeper as he cleared his throat, “Moving on- Pat of course you- let’s just introduce the others first okay?” The man turned back to Nico before continuing, “Okay, so most the others are here now, just tell me if you see anything.”

That prompt was what finally got Nico to tear his eyes away from the steadily decreasing bunch of cookies and look around the rest of the room. He couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping slightly as he saw a shadow with yellow edges standing by the staircase. He tried to focus harder on it, trying to see through the colours to a distinct shape. Unfortunately that focus was lost as soon as a silhouette became clear enough to make out the accessory on his head-

“YOU’RE THE BOWLER HAT GUY!!!” Nico shouted, pointing in accusation at the side.

“Of course, _I’m_ the one you’re able to see…” a voice grumbled from the misty shadow, the sound of static filled the room (Nico guessed it must be one of the other sides talking) as Thomas screeched “What!?!?!”

“You scared me to death back then!” Nico continued, “And ‘snake boi’? What the hell was that all about?”

Thomas spoke, “How did you know about Janus?”

The static began to fade away again as Nico replied, “His bowler hat fell out of nowhere a while back, then he sent me a note- “

“WHAT!?!?” His boyfriend practically screamed. “Janus, why would- we agreed not to! Just _why!?!?_ ” The static joined Thomas in his scorning, hissing loudly and wildly, the occasional semi-understandable word coming through.

The shadow shifted slightly before speaking, “Oh yes, I _definitely_ chose to reveal myself to Nico at that exact moment, all according to plan.” While the words only left Nico feeling more confused, Thomas gave an understanding nod.

“Anyways, that is Janus,” Thomas said, pointing at the yellow and black silhouette.

“Just throw my name out there without permission, that’s _totally_ fine.”

That earnt the side a glare as his boyfriend continued; “he represents my capability for deceit and self-preservation.”

“Well…it’s nice no meet you, Janus?” when Nico said his name the side…hissed?

Honestly his list of questions was growing by the minute.

“Moving quickly along, who’s next?” Thomas quickly intervened, looking around the room. Nico began to look around too, despite not seeing anything unusual but the yel- Janus, but he wanted to be ready for when-

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!”

“Roman!” Thomas yelled as Nico flung himself away from the floating _sword that materialised right next to him_. The actor sighed as he turned back to him, “Sorry, he’s a little extra.” Nico could hear static coming from the direction of the weapon. Ah, so _that_ was Roman.

“It’s fine, really. Could just do with a bit of warning next time before a katana appears out of nowhere.”

“Guess you could say it put you a little on edge?”

Nico groaned at the pun as he returned to the centre of the circle. “Glad my panic amuses you so much hon. So, you’re Roman? The…red one?”

In reply he got the sound of a voice muffled by fuzzing and hissing. It was hard enough to make out any words, made harder still by how the side appeared to be rambling rapidly (all Nico caught were the words ‘bedazzled’ and…’rapscallion’?). He took a wary step back as Roman began brandishing the katana around with _far too much enthusiasm for Nico’s liking._

Suddenly the object jolted to a halt, as if someone else had grabbed the side’s arm. Then it began to move swiftly yet awkwardly (oh god, were two sides really fighting over the sword, that couldn’t be safe _what if they both let go and it went flying and hit something or worse someone-_ ), before finally seemingly being yanked entirely out of Roman’s grasp if the fuzzy protests were anything to go by.

Whoever was holding the sword now sighed in relief, before freezing up. Nico got the feeling he was being stared at just as the weapon went clattering to the floor.

“Um…mind explaining what happened?” Nico asked Thomas, who was looking sadly at the sword on the floor.

“That was Virgil; he represents my anxiety. He really likes you but…he tends to over-worry.” Thomas looked back up at his boyfriend, a small smile returning to his face, “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll properly meet him at some point. He just needs to take his time.” Nico nodded in understanding. He knew Thomas’ anxiety tended to be…heightened, so being a form made purely of all his nerves and insecurities…couldn’t be nice.

He kinda wanted to give him a hug.

He kinda wanted to give them all hugs, honestly.

“So that leaves Logan!” more static, “Sorry, forgot that bit! Roman is my creativity, my “hopes and dreams”, as it were. And he dresses like a Disney prince.”

“Ah, hence playing King George in Hamilton.”

“ _You remember that!?”_

“Yeah, I was worried why bringing him up made you so freaked out, though I’m pretty sure I didn’t think it’d be something like this.”

Thomas groaned, covering his face in minor embarrassment while Nico chuckled beside him. Still blushing slightly the actor continued, “Anyway, this is Logan:” a thick book on astronomy appeared in the air beside the dining table, held stiffly if the slight bend of the paper was anything to go by.

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place for the poet. “Those engineering books weren’t really Joan’s, were they?”

“Yeah, I almost had a heart attack when you saw them!”

“But what would’ve been the problem with me seeing them?”

Thomas moved over to the floating book, just for another to appear in the side’s hands. He passed it to Thomas, who brought it over to Nico. “Even though they can interact with reality, the sides are still technically imaginary,” he explained, opening the book to reveal blank pages, “That includes their belongings.”

Nico nodded in understanding, “Ah, I can see that it’d be a bit hard to explain why you had a stack of empty books.”

Thomas hummed, passing the book back to Logan. Nico saw a glimpse of dark blue as one of the books vanished, and a…tie?

“Well, that’s the introductions over, I guess!” Thomas beamed, slumping down on the sofa, “Thanks for taking it so well Nico, I mean, I know it’s not easy to accept straight away, but- “

“Thomas, it’s no problem.” Nico cut him off, only half focusing on his words. Here was something bugging him, something that wasn’t quite adding up. “Thomas, if this is all the sides, then which was the one eating deodorant?”

Before he could keep speaking, he was interrupted by his boyfriend shrieking, along with static equivalent of multiple sides crying out. Even Janus groaned out a “oh boy…” from where he was sprawled on the staircase.

Nico turned to Thomas in confusion, to find the man looking pale and nervous, “Um…Thomas? What’s wrong?”

The actor ran his fingers through his hair, “Of- of course you’ve met Remus. I mean, he wasn’t gonna stay away from you, was he? Hon, whatever he did I’m so sorry-“

“Woah woah woah! Calm down! He didn’t…do anything bad, just confused me a bit.” He put his hands on both of his boyfriend’s shoulders, attempting to ground him before he works himself into a panic attack. “Now if you’re comfortable with it, can you tell me who Remus is?”

“Why that would be me, you sexy whale penis!” He felt an arm hang over his shoulder.

The house seemed to freeze.

Before erupting into chaos.

Roman had his sword back out, trying to run at Remus while Janus and another side (probably Patton if the dropped cookies were anything to go by) held him back as he yelled “Get your slimy hands away from Nico, you oversized racoon!” Logan was waving his book around to try and get everyone’s attention and Thomas stood staring at the figure next to his boyfriend, who was cackling, twirling his moustache like a stereotypical villain while using the hand still wrapped around Nico’s shoulder to boop the writer’s nose with…a dildo?

Nico couldn’t help himself.

He snorted.

And that snort turned into a laugh.

He really couldn’t stop laughing.

“Nico? Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah I’m g-g-ood jus-st- I c-can’t,” was all he could get out before dissolving into laughter again.

Thomas was still looking at him concerned (which just made him laugh harder), but the situation around him was just so absurd! So crazy! So perfectly…

Thomas.

He really could see a bit of his boyfriend in each of the sides, albeit it was a little harder in some compared to others (he glanced at Remus, who had moved away from Nico to try attack Roman with mentioned dildo, Logan whacking him with the book he held).

Could anyone really blame him for loving them all? They all made up parts of the man he loved, and they all seemed to care for him too, in one way or another.

Roman sliced the dildo in half and Remus pulled out a Morningstar in retaliation against Thomas’ protests.

He kept laughing.

Yeah, Nico could live with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eesh, it's not the best written chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyways!


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me: Okay, make this a nice, simple ending to wrap up the story nicely. Just over 1000 words, nice and sweet without too many tangents. Simple enough!
> 
> 3300 words later: okay this'll work too.

Saying thing went smoothly after that would be lying: learning that your boyfriend had six imaginary parts of him interacting with the real world was a difficult pill to swallow no matter how much you love him and his sides.

At first it felt smothering, especially as some of the sides (cough a dad and a prince cough) seemed to have decided that now he knew about them Nico was ready to deal with all their antics. He’d spent the next few days in a daze, receiving romantic gesture after even more romantic gesture from Roman and performing “bonding activities” with Patton. It took a week and an invisible figure playing video games on the sofa for the reality of the situation to sink in for Nico, that if he stayed with Thomas (not even really an ‘if’, he couldn’t see himself with anyone else after the amazing few months they’d had together) _this_ was his life now. Him and Thomas. And six other kind-of-Thomas’-but-not-quite. They weren’t going away. The sides weren’t a paranormal thing that would be removed or exorcised or whatever. They were natural. Normal. They were normal to Thomas and would have to become normal to Nico. All that chaos…would be his new normal?

He’d had a panic attack that night. Luckily Thomas had been there to help.

Nico got annoyed at himself; he really wished he could just accept the sides with a snap of his fingers, because he really did love them. It was just…

…how can you easily accept something that bends your entire view on reality?

“Why don’t you try and spend some more time around the sides?” Thomas suggested one evening after Nico had expressed his worries, “I mean like casual time, to help “normalise” them a bit? Get to know them a bit more personally and maybe it’ll all seem a bit less ungraspable?”

The poet didn’t have any better ideas, so he agreed that it was probably a good place to start.

He started with Logan: he seemed like the most approachable one at that moment. Sure, he found Patton and Roman’s extravagant and caring actions and activities very endearing, but back then he just wanted to relax.

He’d ended up reading on the sofa in silence next to the intelligent side for the majority of the afternoon, exchanging words occasionally via one of the small whiteboards Thomas had bought. A couple hours later Logan left, but not before sharing a final interesting fact with Nico (did you know that at any given moment there are roughly 2,000 thunderstorms happening on Earth? Nico certainly did not).

It’d gone…okay?

After that Nico’s confidence with the sides grew a bit, as he found himself branching out to spend more time with the others. He’d began writing poetry with Roman, debating and reading with Logan and cooking with Patton. He’d even gotten to talk with Virgil a few times, though he clearly still made the poor guy nervous. Then there was that not-so-productive evening he’d spent fawning over Janus’ outfit, because _who gave that dapper chap the right to dress so fabulously!?!?!_ And despite Roman’s complaints at him for ‘stroking the snake’s ego’ Nico couldn’t find it in himself to regret it when Janus joined his and Logan’s debates. Besides, that outfit deserved praise.

Then…then there was Remus.

_Oh boy._

Thomas had explained that as part of “Dark Creativity”, the green side represented Thomas’ dirtier thoughts – a lot which involved his boyfriend for…obvious reasons. Which Nico had oh-so-stupidly thought would be fine, because how dirty could Thomas’ mind be?

He had severely underestimated Joan’s influence.

Most of the time it was manageable, just the odd flirtatious comment or inuendo, sometimes accompanied with a visual demonstration of some sorts if he was visible. Sometimes Remus appeared out of nowhere, insulting the other sides, more often leading to some form of duel than not. Those things were fine; they were often more hilarious or blush-worthy than disturbing.

Then there were times it was not so fine. Like the time he appeared in front of the other man entirely naked. Luckily Nico hadn’t been able to see him that time, but the warnings from the others were more than enough to make him blush profusely. Of course he’d seen Thomas naked before, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable with the idea of Thomas’ privacy being violated without the man even being in the room.

However, even things with the chaotic side slowly improved: while Remus never seemed to run out of disturbing material, he’d started toning it down a bit. In the sense that he was leaving him flustered or mildly disturbed, rather than uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

Guess even Duke’s weren’t immune to the Flores charm, ay?

…Or come to think about it, maybe Nico was just getting used to the madness.

Either way, things were slowly falling into place, and the sides were becoming more and more clear to Nico. Each day he could see them a little better, for a little longer.

Each day he got a little closer to each of them.

And a little closer to Thomas.

Three months after the confrontation, Nico woke up like he did any other Saturday – at midday, feeling groggy and annoyed that the sun _just had to shine through that gap in his curtains_ but thankful that he didn’t have to hurry off anywhere.

‘ _You know that’s not gonna stop you from rushing over to Thomas’_ _place as soon as you’re properly conscious,_ ’ an (unfortunately) correct and seemingly only awake part of him thought.

And sure enough, after eventually pulling himself from his cocoon of comfort and warmth, getting changed and packing up his laptop, charger and a few pairs of clothes, he left the house at 12:30 dull.

He didn’t live too far from Thomas’ so he decided to walk. He could use with some more time to properly wake up anyways.

The walk there was uneventful, but it wasn’t the walk that Nico was excited for: he and Thomas were going to play Cuphead today, and while it was nice to spend time with the sides sometimes spending quality time with his boyfriend was all he could wish for.

‘ _But aren’t they all technically parts of Thomas? So when I hang out with Thomas I’m hanging out with all of them?’_

Ugh, that bit still hurt his head to try and wrap around.

After twenty minutes of walking he made it to his destination. Unlocking the door (Thomas had gifted him a key a while back), he called out “Thomas! It’s Nico!”. He always said his name as he entered, just to help keep Virgil from freaking out. He made his way into the living room, his attention immediately caught by the small stack of paper left on the table. Walking over to read it, he recognised Logan’s neatly printed handwriting from the multitude of whiteboard conversations they’d held:

_To Nico,_

_It has come to my attention that your life management system is just as disorganised as Thomas’, possibly even worse. I draw the figurative line at both of you still being asleep at 12:00pm on a perfectly good Saturday afternoon._

_Hence, I have designated you a schedule. I have tried in the past to produce working ones for Thomas, yet he has disregarded each and every one of them almost immediately, so instead I must hope that he might be tempted to look after himself more effectively if he has you leading by example._

_Please leave any criticisms or constructive advice on the review sheet attached._

_Sincerely,_

_Logan._

Nico found himself smiling as he began flicking through the sheets in front of him. The schedule included a detailed timetable of his next three weeks (he had to wonder how Logan even knew some of this stuff – had he even told _Thomas_ about his meeting with R.S. Studios on Thursday??), along with possible options for how to fill up his ‘designated relaxation period’. And true to his words, the last page was an official review sheet, including things from a ‘scale of satisfaction’ to the classic ‘constructive criticism box’.

Letting out an amused huff, Nico looked around the room. While he couldn’t see anyone there, he decided to play it safe and call out anyways. “Thanks Logan! I’ll try my best!” he said, peering over to the large whiteboard that had at some point become a permanent fixture in Thomas’ living room.

A dark blue marker hovered by the board, writing, “ _It was no problem Nico, I merely want to help improve you and Thomas to achieve your maximum potential.”_

“Can I possibly suggest lifting the weekday bedtime a _tiny_ bit from eleven to, I don’t know? Midnight? Half midnight?”

“ _I have already been overly generous with your bedtimes, setting it any later would entirely defeat the point of having a timetable to begin with.”_

Nico chuckled, “Eh fair enough.” Guess he’ll just have to hold off his re-bingeing of the entirety of Doctor Who for next weekend instead.

Logan apparently wasn’t done yet, as the pen kept moving, “ _By the way, Thomas wants to ask you something of moderate importance once he comes downstairs. I personally don’t see the “big deal” about the situation, but Thomas has formed the opinion that it is, so I’m just supplying a forewarning in case it turns out to be something overly feelings-fuelled that I have failed to comprehend.”_

It always confused Nico a bit when Logan wrote or talked like that – like he didn’t have feelings (Nico sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if the side was even aware of his own emotions). But he decided not to comment on it, instead nodding and saying “I’ll keep that in mind.” He didn’t get another response, or elaboration, the pen being set down on the table as a (previously decided on) sign that the side was leaving the room. Sighing to himself, Nico went over and sat on the couch…

…and now he was nervous. He appreciated the warning but man, now all he could do was wonder what Thomas wanted to talk about!

His knee began bouncing as he sat there waiting, pulling his phone out to try and distract himself from thinking about the possible things Thomas wanted to ask about (against his will his mind was coming up with a lovely range of mainly negative options – none that he wanted to indulge in). About a minute later he heard movement down the corridor towards the stairs, and before long a familiar face appeared.

“Took you long enough sleepyhead!” Nico said, trying to ignore the rise in his nerves at seeing his boyfriend’s neat appearance – well, by neater he meant that his hair was properly styled and his shirt had far few too wrinkles in for a chilling-playing-games-on-Saturday afternoon. Small as it was, Thomas had made an effort, and that _had_ to mean something.

“Sorry, had a bit of a busy night up here,” Thomas replied, tapped a finger against his temple as he went down the last few steps, moving to sit beside Nico on the couch.

God, he was barely containing his nerves. “Yeah, Logan wrote that you wanted to talk to me about something, then left straight after like some mysterious cryptid. Left me fully in suspense and everything!” Nico laughed, trying hard to make it sound more casual than it felt. “So it’s up to you to spill the beans, Mr Sanders.”

The actor’s lips quirked up at the old nickname; “I suppose it is then- though I was going to be the one to ask anyways.” He shifted, fingers running through his neat hair.

_‘That pesky old nervous tic, huh? Does that mean I was right in feeling nervous about this?’_

_‘No, Logan would’ve worded things differently if this was a bad confrontation, not all “talks” need to be bad!’_

_‘But that doesn’t mean it won’t- ‘_

Thomas began speaking before Nico’s nerves could grow any wilder, “I- we were curious- and don’t feel pressured to say yes- we were wondering how you’d feel about…moving in with us?”

Oh.

Huh.

Nico didn’t really know how to feel about that.

The first thought that crossed his mind was _panic, it’s too soon they’re not ready things fall apart once you move in_ but…was it? It’d been, what? Slightly over five months since he and Thomas had started dating? And they’d known each other for about a month before then. Was that _still_ too soon?

But the last few months had been the best few of Nico’s life. Sure, the lifestyle they lived wasn’t exactly wild – mainly consisting of movie nights and gaming with maybe the occasional party thrown in there – but just spending time relaxing with Thomas was a hundred times better than relaxing alone at home…

Besides, Nico couldn’t really deny that he’d basically half moved in already: last night had been his first night back in his apartment in about a week, and that was really only because he’d run out of re-wearable clothes.

Then there were the sides. He really loved each of them in a unique way, and after thinking through it Nico figured he was probably as ready as he’d ever be to live with them full time.

He just wasn’t sure if they were ready to live with him.

“Sorry if it’s too soon,” Thomas backtracked at Nico’s silence, “It was stupid of me to ask really, we can wait longer if you’re still not re-“

The poet butted in before his boyfriend could retract his offer, “No! I mean I feel as if I’m ready, I’m just worried if you’re not completely ready to have me move in.”

A princely figure rose up by the television, “Nonsense, my floral prince! I can confirm that there is nothing Thomas wants more right now than to make you an official ‘part of the famILY’!” he sang the last bit to the tune of the song from ‘Oliver’, gestures overly grand as usual as he spoke.

Janus appeared, making himself comfortable perched on the table, “As much as I _love_ the idea of Thomas dragging new people into our lives full time…you’re alright Flores. Plus this was the best option I could get these idiots to agree to that wasn’t wedding you the next time they saw you.”

Ignoring the offended squawks from both Thomas and Roman (and the blush that had formed across his own face and ears), Nico spoke: “No- I know you guys would be okay with it. I meant I’m not sure if _all_ of you are.”

All three of the other’s faces grew more sullen at those words. They all knew exactly who Nico was referring to:

Virgil.

Nico wanted to get to know the emo side, he really did, but the guy just seemed so on edge around him. And Nico really didn’t want to trample on whatever comfort and safety the embodiment of anxiety had.

“He-yesterday he said he was ready?” Roman said, looking down at the floor glumly.

Janus sighed, “Sure, he said he was ready, but only after the rest of you pressurised him with your drabbles on how much you want this.”

“This isn’t a decision Virgil should feel pressurised into making. It’d probably be better to check that was his real opinion before heading any further,” Thomas decided, turning back to Nico. “Hon, I’m really sorry but I think you were right. We might need to wait a while longer just to check-“

“No, wait!”

The poet turned in surprise to see the dark shadow from his first formal date with Thomas. The shadow he now recognised as Virgil from the couple of short interactions they’d had.

The shadow spoke, the density and fluctuation giving away the sides nerves, “I know I d-don’t really talk to y-you much Nico. I can’t really help the way I feel around you, but I just want to make something clear.” The side took a deep breath, the rest of the room silent as they focused on Virgil, “I do like you. A lot. You- you mean a lot to me, and despite what I say there’s nothing I’d want more than to have you move in.”

The shadow had stopped fluctuating, growing lighter in colour as the side kept breathing steadily. “I’m not v-very good social interaction, being Anxiety and all.” Nico couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as the shadow disappeared entirely, being replaced with a pair of eyes surrounded by a shimmering purple, “But I want to get on with you better, so…this could be a start?”

Nico looked to see both the other sides and Thomas smiling lovingly and hopefully between Virgil and himself.

Grinning brightly at the soft hazel eyes by the staircase, Nico said, “Well if that’s the case, I’ll happily be a part of all of you famILY.”

Bonus:

It was late one evening, and Thomas and Nico were relaxing on the sofa. ‘Tangled’ was playing on the TV, but the duo weren’t paying proper attention, both worn out from their respective days of work plus the unpacking they’d continued after dinner. Sure, they’d had help from the sides, but extra hands didn’t stop lugging old and new furniture around the house any less exhausting.

After several rounds of restraining Remus from just smashing everything to pieces (“surely it’s easier to transport all this shit if it’s in smaller pieces?”) and the couple of times they’d had to prevent others from following in the dark side’s footsteps, the majority of things were in place and the couple were ready to collapse on the sofa.

Which led to the current situation: a Disney film playing with neither party singing along or adding in funny quips (truly a rare sighting), both just exhausted and about ready to go to sleep.

But it was only 10, it would practically be a sin to go to sleep that early, no matter what Logan said.

Nico forced his eyes open as they began drooping, staring intently at the screen as if hoping that the movie would magically rejuvenate his energy. As Pascal appeared on the screen, a thought popped into his head.

“Hey, how do chameleons do that though? Change colour like that?” he asked. Sure, it was a bit of a weird thing to focus on in a Disney film, but who was he to judge what stuck out in his mind?

He got his response a few seconds later, _‘Chameleons are a unique case actually; unlike many animals with colour-changing properties who’s changes are caused by accumulating or dispersing pigments within their skin cells, chameleons dramatic colour shifts are caused by nanocrystals in their two thick layers of iridophore cells which affect how light is reflected off their skin.’_

“Thanks Logan…” Nico mumbled out as his eyes began closing again.

“Um, Nico?”

“What?” he moaned from his position lying on Thomas’ chest.

“Logan’s not here.”

Huh, odd. The answer had sounded like a Logan answer. “Then thanks to whichever side answered me.”

“There’s…no sides here. Only us.”

Nico suddenly felt a lot more awake, “But then who answered my question?”

Thomas’ eyes met Nico’s as he looked down at him, concern replacing confusion, “No one answered your question.”

“But- but I heard someone!”

“Nico, are you okay?” Both of them were sitting upright now, drowsiness long forgotten as the more pressing issue presented itself.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I think? I mean I feel like normal, I just swore I heard an answer…”

‘ _What the hell’s going on?’_

_‘All I did was answer my- your- wait- ‘_

_‘How did you know the answer to my question?’_

_‘My- but I’m- I’m you? But how did I answer your- my question?’_

_‘That’s what I’m asking!’_

“Nico…” Thomas’ eyes widened as realisation seemed to hit him. “Just…stay calm. I know this can be a bit overwhelming at first.”

_‘What’s he talking about? Is there something wrong with me?’_

_‘No, you’re- we’re- I’m in perfectly good physical health. However I cannot be certain about our current mental state without further psychological analysis.’_

Nico caught a glimpse of a yellow bowtie in the room beside him and Thomas.

…What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it: my first completed fic!
> 
> Firstly I want to thank all you readers - you've all been so supportive of this fic and have inspired me to keep going to the end! You're all so kind and your comments have made me smile like an idiot every time I've read them!
> 
> As for the ending: while I'm not planning to make another full fic on this premise, I do have some one-shot ideas based both during the three months between this chapter and the last and for stuff this fic leads on to. No promises I'll write them though! My school pushes it's students really hard so I have very little free time to write and draw, plus I have other fics I want to return to for the BNHA fandom that I put to the side while writing this.
> 
> Either way, I hope you all liked the ending and enjoyed the story! And hope to see some of you again if I write more for this wonderful fandom in the future!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This is just a quick lil fic that I just couldn't help but make after the adorableness that was the latest Sanders Sides episode!


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